SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A senior attending high school in Runnels County went to Japan at the beginning of November to present a research paper she produced alongside other students as part of a University of California STEM program.
Sheccid Barranco, a senior at Olfen High School, said she started the internship in July 2025. The internship took place in San Diego and was offered through the Outreach Program for Advanced Learning in STEM.
“My aunt, she’s one of the researchers there at San Diego, and she and one of her coworkers organized the program, so she knew I was interested in research, so she invited me to go,” Barranco said.
OPALS provides pre-college students with “the unique opportunity to engage with researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students who are actively involved in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of engineering and medical science,” according to the UC San Diego webpage for OPALS.
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“Through this experience, interns will develop a deep understanding of the scientific principles behind the research and will be encouraged to critically analyze experimental data,” the webpage reads. “By the conclusion of the internship, students will present their findings in a research talk or poster, showcasing their comprehension and analytical skills.”
Barranco worked with seven San Diego-area students to produce a biomedics research paper showcasing findings on whether certain drugs would be serviceable alternatives to opioid medication in an effort to avoid addictions.
“One of the main researchers, she did the experiments, and we did moreso of the data analysis and then wrote an abstract over it, and that is what we presented,” Barranco said.
Barranco said one of the most appealing aspects of her time conducting research for the paper was the trial-and-error nature of solving proposed questions.
“It’s really interesting to see how one could come up with a question and be able to answer it,” Barranco said. “Even if it isn’t what you thought the answer would be, it still fascinates to see the results.”
Once the research paper was ready, Barranco and her peers traveled to Matsue, Japan, on Nov. 1 to at the 14th International Conference of Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology. There, the students presented their research, earning special recognition for their work.
Barranco returned home on Nov. 8, carrying with her a slew of stories to tell and lessons learned. One such lesson was how passions can bring people to try new things, go to new places and face new challenges.
“Just pursuing your interests can really broaden your horizons and see what specifically you want to do,” Barranco said. “Even if it’s something you don’t think you’ll like to do, even just trying it out can help you a lot. For my case, it really showed me how much I enjoyed doing it.”
Olfen High School senior Sheccid Barranco traveled to Japan in November 2025 to present a research paper she made alongside other students in San Diego, California, in summer 2025.
Olfen High School senior Sheccid Barranco traveled to Japan in November 2025 to present a research paper she made alongside other students in San Diego, California, in summer 2025.
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